


Do it Again

by VulpesVulpes713



Series: A Collection of Klance [7]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: First Kiss, In Universe, Laith, M/M, POV Keith (Voltron), Pining Keith (Voltron), Some angst, Voltron, after battle, it's really just a quick little after battle kiss, klance, klance fluff, making sure they're both ok, that sort of thing, vld
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-25
Updated: 2017-09-25
Packaged: 2019-01-05 09:30:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12187389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VulpesVulpes713/pseuds/VulpesVulpes713
Summary: Keith loses sight of Lance during a scuffle at a Galra base, but with Lance not answering any of their calls afterward, his brain immediately thinks the worst.





	Do it Again

**Author's Note:**

> Had someone ask for fic recs about cute, after battle klance kisses, and I didn't know of any! So I wrote this to help satisfy their need until I could get some recommendations.
> 
> Please send any fics that fit that description to my [Tumblr](https://vulpes--vulpes@tumblr.com)

Battles aren’t a quiet matter.

 

They’re loud; a monstrosity of commotion that leaves the ears ringing unpleasantly for hours afterward, if the outcome is favourable.

 

But at least the noise means life; a victory, a chance to live another day. And it’s the ringing in Keith’s ears that has him thankful that they made it out alive.

 

That moment of relief lasts a grand total of two seconds however, and then the thunderous rhythm of panicked heartbeats takes over his sense of hearing as Keith realizes the predicament he’s in.

 

_Shit...shit shit shit…_

 

_Where’s Lance!_

 

They had landed on the adjacent moon to a Galra outpost, where a plan had been formulated to sneak in and collect as much intel as they could during a change in guard. It wasn’t what Keith wanted, but the others had outvoted simply flying down and forming Voltron to take out the base in it’s entirety.

 

 _‘Too risky’_  they had said, mostly Allura, though Shiro wasn’t about to disagree with her.

 

Keith’s argument about ensuring the Galra would be losing a valuable asset thus fell on deaf ears.

 

Well, except for Lance, who had turned to him with a playful pat on the shoulder.

 

 _‘We can’t always barge down with swords drawn Samurai,’_ he had teased, and Keith remembered the smile that had graced soft lips. _‘Besides, if all goes well, then we can keep coming back and use this base as a way to keep an eye on the Galra.’_

 

It was a good idea really, save for one key part:

 

_If all goes well…._

 

‘If’ was a very dangerous word to mess around with, and though Keith hadn’t thought much of it at the time, he should have known better.

 

Should have pushed his plan with more urgency.

 

But Lance’s calm reassurance had dulled his senses, and Keith had gone along with the others without further ado.

 

_I shouldn’t have let him out of my sight!_

 

_Where did he go?!_

 

The plan was to split off in groups. The base hadn’t appeared to be heavily guarded, and smaller groups would allow for more mobility throughout it.

 

Lance had volunteered to go with Keith; had draped an arm across his shoulder and pulled him in close, all the while grinning as he said ‘dibs’ in regards to Shiro’s instructions to partner up.

 

Keith recalled the burning in his cheeks at being claimed in such a manner, but hadn’t argued that splitting up was a bad idea. Instead he had ignored the sense of unease in the pit of his stomach in favour of going off alone with the Blue paladin.

 

_Stupid. Stupid!_

 

Everything had been going smoothly, so much so that Keith had allowed his thoughts to wander as he and Lance made their way down darkened corridors, wondering what it would be like to claim one for themselves.

 

His thoughts had been filled with browns and blues, completely ignorant to the sudden bright purples that accompanied the blaring alarms of the base. And because Lance had been on his mind, Keith hadn’t been paying attention to the details.

 

Things such as the lack of trouble they had had getting into the base. Or how all the sensors had been mysteriously unresponsive.

 

_It was a trap...and now Lance is gone!_

 

Keith forced himself to breathe as he frantically searched the area he had been fighting in.

 

It had been an overwhelming amount of sentries in their area of the base, all seemingly programmed to wait for them to get close enough before attacking at once.

 

Clearly someone had known they were going to be there, but Keith couldn’t allow himself to ponder who just yet. He had to find Lance.

 

_And the others as well…_

 

Admittedly, Lance had been the first one to spring into Keith’s head after Pidge had managed to disable the majority of the enemy force, but that was to be expected. Lance had been his partner, and was thus Keith’s responsibility.

 

_Where are you?!_

 

It had taken Keith only a moment to switch from fantasizing about soft lips and even softer brown hair to fighting mode as the sentries made themselves known, but it was a moment too long. Dozens of enemies had descended upon them, and with Lance specializing in ranged combat over melee, he had taken to a higher position to help Keith from above.

 

_‘I’ll watch you from the skies, like your guardian angel!’_

 

The words rang through Keith’s head as he continued to search the broken bodies of sentry robots.

 

_That better have been metaphorical, and not literal Lance, or so help me God I’ll kill you myself._

 

The thought had been meant as a jest, but as Keith’s searching continued on without result, his insides squirmed in worry.

 

_“Keith? What’s your status?”_

 

The voice cut through the haze growing in Keith’s mind, and he took a few seconds to process the words properly before replying.

 

_I forgot we had coms. Idiot!_

 

“I’m fine. Sentries are all down thanks to Pidge.”

 

Shiro was quick to reply.

 

_“Good. Hunk?”_

 

_“All good over here. I’m with Pidge now.”_

 

 _“And I’m with Allura,”_ Shiro answered, leaving only one voice unaccounted for. _“Lance?”_

 

Keith waited for the familiar voice to buzz through his helmet. He waited for that teasing tone to reply with something witty and dumb, that he would smile at in secret. He waited for Lance to reply, to say something, _anything,_ but no answer came.

 

“Lance!” Keith called out, uncaring how loud his voice would transmit over the coms. Still nothing.

 

_“Keith what happened?! You two were in a group!”_

 

“We were in the heat of battle Shiro, I lost track of him.”

 

_“You were supposed to watch out for each other!”_

 

_I know! I’m sorry!_

 

But Keith didn’t say that. Instead he swallowed the bile clinging to his throat and began searching with renewed vigour.

 

_He can’t be hurt. There’s no way. He’s fine. He’s just out of range of the coms or something._

 

_But how? The reception on these things is powerful, there’s no way he can’t hear._

 

_Shut up!_

 

Keith sprinted back to where he had last seen Lance, right before the sentries had been released. His eyes followed the path the Blue paladin had taken; jetpacks boosting him up a floor in order to snipe from afar.

 

_I should have made him stay with me._

 

But that wouldn’t have been logical. Lance was a ranged fighter. Having him stay with Keith would only have put him in more danger, and quite frankly, would have just been a distraction.

 

_No, we made the right call. And it’s worked before._

 

He and Lance had been training together more often back on the ship, formulating new techniques that benefitted both their fighting styles. And this one, where Lance fell back to provide Keith with support from above, had worked countless times against the training bots.

 

So much so that Allura herself had complimented their efforts.

 

_We should have just formed Voltron! We shouldn’t have all split up!_

 

But there was no time to assign blame. No need to point fingers.

 

Because if Lance was truly lost...then…

 

_No! He’s fine!_

 

_I just need to find him._

 

“Lance!” he called out again, hearing Hunk and Shiro reciprocate the call before instructing everyone to form up on Keith’s location. They would search together.

 

 _“Keith, stay put until we get there,”_ Shiro’s voice was stern, but Keith barely acknowledged the request.

 

“I need to find Lance,” was all he said, before jetting up to the ledge where the boy had been perched.

 

_But how long ago was that now?_

 

The fight hadn’t taken long, or so Keith had thought. Time ceased to exist in the middle of battle; everything narrowing down to life and death as blade severed steel. For all Keith knew, hours had gone by, and his mind had been too preoccupied with trying to stay on his feet to notice Lance’s cover fire had stopped.

 

_What if he was hit? Or ambushed again, and I wasn’t there to save him!_

 

_What if something worse happened!_

 

It was all Keith could do to keep his fear from choking him as no sign of Lance was detected up on the ledge. He hastily followed along it, hoping to see a flash of blue; praying it would still be moving.

 

“Lance! Where are you!” His voice was strained from withholding panicked tears, and as he turned a corner that led down another hallway, Keith’s eyes landed upon something shining faintly in the dim lighting.

 

He ran toward it, keeping his bayard at the ready should something jump out. The shattered remains of a Galra sentry were scattered across the floor up ahead; a small circular hole having torn through it’s center.

 

_Lance’s bayard…._

 

So he _had_ been ambushed!

 

Keith cursed himself as he took off down the hallway, away from where he had fought off the horde of robots; footsteps echoing sharply against the metal grating as more sentry remains cluttered the ground.

 

_What if he was hurt...or...or he’s unconscious, or-_

 

_No. He can’t be dead. No way._

 

_But what if!_

 

Keith’s thoughts broke off as he noticed something dark glistening off the wall, and his heart plummeted to his feet as he realized it was blood.

 

_Human blood…_

 

“LANCE!”

 

His voice ripped through the air, shredding it and his throat with the sheer intensity of the emotion welling up inside him. Lance had chosen him as his partner, and Keith had failed to protect him. If something had happened then Keith was to blame.

 

_Lance...where are you!_

 

_You can’t be dead! I won’t allow it!_

 

“LANCE! PLEASE-”

 

“Keith!”

 

His name rattled around the hallway softly, coming from somewhere up ahead, and Keith bolts towards it without hesitation.

 

“Lance!” he shouts again, because _it had to have been him calling out_ , and emerges into a large room where the ruined remains of nearly a dozen sentries lay deactivated on the floor. And in the center of them all, panting heavily without a helmet on and clutching his side with one arm, is- “ _Lance!”_

 

“Keith, are you alright-” the rest of Lance’s sentence is cut off as Keith barrels into him, wrapping him up in a fierce hug that has both of them stumbling backwards into the far wall ungracefully.

 

Lance lets out a surprised squeak that quickly transitions into a yelp of pain as he’s knocked into the barrier.

 

Keith immediately lets go, eyes widening in concern as they go to where Lance is clutching his ribs; blood leaking lethargically from a small gash in his side.

 

“How bad is it,” Keith demands, brain switching to autopilot as he pulls aside Lance’s hand to check the damage. It’s not deep, he can tell that much, but there’s still blood, and Lance should never have to bleed.

 

“It’s not-” Lance tries, but hisses in as Keith quickly applies a bandage to the wound, hoping it will be adequate until they can get him back to the ship. “Ow, geez...take it easy.”

 

“Are you hurt anywhere else?” Keith says, ignoring Lance’s remark. He needs to make sure there’s nothing broken; nothing poking out where it shouldn’t be.

 

_He’s alive right now, but if I don’t make sure..._

 

Lance is shaking his head, bringing Keith’s attention back up to it with a frown.

 

“Where’s your helmet!” he demands, anger flooding into his voice. He’s not mad at Lance, of course, but more with himself. Mad for seeing Lance hurt. Mad for not being there for him.

 

“It got knocked off, and I haven’t been able to get it back yet,” Lance replies defensively, and Keith takes a shaky breath, feeling his emotions threaten to consume him as he takes his own helmet off to pinch the bridge of his nose.

 

“I’ve- _we’ve_ -” he corrects, “been calling for you...and you didn’t reply so I thought- _we_ thought that something happened and I-” he breaks off, feeling his voice grow unstable as relief merges with previous feelings of panic, and drops his head in shame. “Lance...I’m so sorry.”

 

There’s a pause, and instead of Lance giving him a verbal reply, as Keith had been expecting, arms suddenly wrap around his shoulders, and Keith is pulled into Lance’s chest and held there tightly.

It’s all Keith can do to keep himself standing upright as his brain short-circuits.

 

“It’s ok,” Lance coos softly, fingers moving into his hairline and massaging gently. “I’m ok. We’re both safe now. This isn’t your fault.”

 

Keith sinks further into Lance’s embrace, calmed by the reassurances and bringing his own hands up to rest against the small of Lance’s back as tears well up unbidden in his eyes.

 

_We’re both safe now._

 

_But you still got hurt. It could have been so much worse!_

 

“I thought I lost you-” his voice breaks off in a sob, one that has Lance pulling back slightly to investigate the cause of the sound. Keith lifts his eyes, blurry as they are now with excess water, and sees Lance’s face contort with concern.

 

“Keith…” Lance’s voice is soft, tender, and then a small smile is tilting his mouth upwards. “You can’t get rid of me that easily Samurai.”

 

And then he’s kissing Keith square on the lips.

 

It’s a fleeting moment; just a touch and then it’s over, and then Lance is leaning back with a sheepish grin and cheeks so red they could almost rival Keith’s armour.

 

_Oh…_

 

It’s the only thought able to form in Keith’s head, and he stares unblinkingly back up at Lance in response to the gesture.

 

“See?” Lance whispers, and Keith can hear the hesitation in his voice. “Still here.”

 

“Do it again.”

 

The words spring forth unceremoniously from Keith’s mouth, and he’s almost embarrassed that they were even uttered out loud to begin with. But then Lance is grinning, and hands travel to Keith’s face to tilt his jaw upwards before lips once again meet his.

 

The kiss is so much better this time, mostly because it lasts longer than a second, and Keith is able to experience it in it’s fullest.

 

Warmth spreads out from his mouth and down his torso, heating his insides and burning away the fear that had collected there. Because Lance is _kissing_ him! Which means so many things!

 

_Lance likes me!_

 

_Lance is holding me!_

 

_And his lips are so unimaginably soft...and he tastes so much better than I thought!_

 

But most importantly, Lance’s lips against Keith’s, warm and needy and _oh so addicting_ , mean exactly what Lance had told him: that he’s still here.

 

That he’s _alive_.

 

And that in itself is so overwhelming that Keith feels tears spill forth from his eyelids, sliding down his cheeks until salt mixes with the sweetness of Lance’s mouth.

 

“Woah,” Lance pulls back suddenly, and Keith nearly whines at the loss of connection. “You’re crying! Are you ok? Am I hurting you? Do you…” he pauses, eyes searching Keith’s face in worry. “Do you...not like kissing me?”

 

It’s Keith’s turn to smile, and he hastily wipes away his tears as he feels laughter bubble up inside him; overly giddy and suddenly exhausted now that the adrenaline from searching for Lance is wearing off.

 

He cradles Lance’s cheeks in his hands, something he’s wanted to do for so long now, and brushes a thumb tenderly beneath bright blue eyes.

 

“Do it again,” he whispers, and Lance’s relief is evident from his expression.

 

“With pleasure,” he mumbles, and then they’re kissing once more.

 

Keith sighs against Lance’s lips, hands moving to twine in his hair as his body pushes forward, and he hears the resounding groan deep in Lance’s throat in reply to the motion.

 

It’s enough to cause Keith to grin against Lance’s lips, and their mouths break apart. Lance doesn’t stop kissing him though, and leaves a trail of light pecks up the side of Keith’s face, before going to his closed eyes and planting tender kisses there as well.

 

“No more crying,” he murmurs, and Keith feels himself laugh in reply.

 

“Do it again!” he encourages, and Lance wastes no time ducking his head back down to Keith’s lips.

 

If Keith thought time stopped in battle, kissing Lance could have him believing it no longer existed. He wasn’t sure how long they stood there, propped up against the wall in a Galra base, surrounded by the lifeless corpses of Galra sentries, holding each other close as their lips brought them reassurance. All he knew was that Lance was ok. _Better_ than ok.

 

He was alive for one, if a little damaged, but that was alright.

 

He was in Keith’s arms for two, which was definitely alright.

 

And he was kissing Keith for three, which was so much beyond alright that Keith didn’t think there was a word to properly describe it.

 

When they were finally interrupted by the unimpressed voices of their teammates, Keith couldn’t even be bothered. Not with the teasing remarks from Pidge, or the knowing glances from Shiro, or even the not-so-subtle staring from Hunk.

 

None of that mattered, so long as Lance had his hand tucked firmly in Keith’s; alive and well and _his_ to hold. They left the Galra base like that, away from the ambush and the worries and the betrayal that had evidently led to them being attacked in the first place. And though those concerns took priority over Keith’s desire to get Lance alone once back on the ship, he knew that there would be plenty of more kisses to come.

 

And he couldn’t wait to do it again.

 


End file.
